Low level CONSTANT humming noise from dairy farm neighbour??

L

LadyJane

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Hi, I know there was another post recently about humming noise in a house. This is a different circumstance.

We moved to the country about 2 years ago. Our neigbour, about half a mile away has been building a dairy. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that a constant humming sounds started. It is like a vibration, low level that I can hear day and night. Once you are outside, you don't notice it but inside, it is heard in every room in the house. We switched off the mains electricity to be sure it wasn't something in the house.

Someone mentioned it might be the refrigeration units used by some dairy farms. Has anyone any experience with noise levels from a dairy farm? There are no wind farms nearby so I know it is not a windmill. Also I know dairy milking machines can cause noise in morning and evening. But this is constant and never stops and is really driving me and my husband a bit mad. I mentioned it to our elderly neighbours but they were little help as they are both rather hard of hearing and hadn't noticed it. The sound is like being on an airplane.

BTW we have not done any DIY or anything that might effect the sound levels in our house.

Any advice or experience appreciated.
 
Might he have a wind mill, or use some sort of pump?
 
He probably has a generator installed, you said it was a new dairy unit maybe he is not connected to esb yet or might use it as his exclusive source of electricty especially for milk coolers or milking parlour
 
There is no windmill. I supposed a pump is possible, but would you expect a pump to run 24 hours a day without cessation? I work from home, so I know this humming is constant, with no break.
 
GMD said:
He probably has a generator installed, you said it was a new dairy unit maybe he is not connected to esb yet or might use it as his exclusive source of electricty especially for milk coolers or milking parlour
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Is there anything that can be done (on his end) to reduce the noise from this generator? It is a new dairy, but the farm had been there for generations, and I know it is connected to ESB already.

Might some noise pollution regulations come in to play here? I want to maintain good relationship with the neighbour but this is really affecting our quality of life and possibly our property value (ha!).
 
but you say you don't hear anything outside so how could it be noise. It is unlikely to be anything in the dairy , all there would be there is a refrigeration unit and that wouldn't run constantly.
Also if it was that noisy it would affect the cows which would be a definite no no.
There is very little in a dairy that would be extremely noisy.

Do you have anything running on your own septic tank or any other close neighbours.
 
LadyJane said:
Hi, I know there was another post recently about humming noise in a house. This is a different circumstance.

We moved to the country about 2 years ago. Our neigbour, about half a mile away has been building a dairy. About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that a constant humming sounds started. It is like a vibration, low level that I can hear day and night. Once you are outside, you don't notice it but inside, it is heard in every room in the house. We switched off the mains electricity to be sure it wasn't something in the house.

Someone mentioned it might be the refrigeration units used by some dairy farms. Has anyone any experience with noise levels from a dairy farm? There are no wind farms nearby so I know it is not a windmill. Also I know dairy milking machines can cause noise in morning and evening. But this is constant and never stops and is really driving me and my husband a bit mad. I mentioned it to our elderly neighbours but they were little help as they are both rather hard of hearing and hadn't noticed it. The sound is like being on an airplane.

BTW we have not done any DIY or anything that might effect the sound levels in our house.

Any advice or experience appreciated.
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Wouldn't be an electric fence would it??
 
Could it be an electric fence? though as said above if you're only hearing it indoors that wouldn't make sense.
 
If you only hear it inside and not outside I can't see how it would be coming from a farm half a mile away?! :confused:

Have you ruled out everything in your own house?

Faulty phone cable? Stuck doorbell chime? (a classic BTW)
 
I had a humming problem for weeks in my house - it turned out to be the doorbell (it wasn't working, which I was aware of, but someone had pressed it and it stayed pressed). Then the humming started.
 
Caveat said:
If you only hear it inside and not outside I can't see how it would be coming from a farm half a mile away?! :confused:

Have you ruled out everything in your own house?

Faulty phone cable? Stuck doorbell chime? (a classic BTW)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. It can't be a doorbell as we don't have one, and no landline on the property. Also, the humming is present even when the mains electricity is off. I guess it could be an electric fence as there is one bordering our property. It is not uncommon for low level ambient noise from a source away from the house to be heard in the house. This is a problem with houses next to factories and airports. The outdoor noise covers the sound, but once indoors, the sound, which is traveling through the ground, is plainly audible.
 
Seems very strange. Perhaps it could be the electric fence, have you stood near the energy box for it?
 
No, I may have to try that. My husband just went for a listen outside and you CAN hear it outside, it is just more noticeable inside. Will check the electric fence tonight.
 
There is an agitator pump in the bulk storage tank in a milking parlour which runs constantly. It has a low level humming noise so your first thought may be the correct one.
 
Ok thanks Hoagy. I hope there might be some way of getting it muffled. Like I said, I don't want to cause agro for the farmer. Just need my quiet country home back...
 
are u sure its not coming from your mains box..melted cable or a transformer close to the house, i can't see how it can be a farmer a half a mile away
 
Sound generated can travel a great distance till they meet a solid object i.e. a house and be converted into an audible sound . This is also true of vibrations transmitted through the ground with both these scenarios the sounds can travel at an inaudible level till they are converted by an object to an audible level. In first instance trees can block the sound, in the latter damping of anything touching the ground.
In your case ask the farmer to turn off the equipment to hear if the sound stops (some one in parlour some one in house) :) hope that helps
 
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